Korean Shipbuilders Bag Most Orders for Second Month

The domestic shipbuilding industry logged more global orders than any other country in February, ranking first in the world market for the second straight month.

London-based Clarkson Research Services said Wednesday that Korean companies won orders totaling 1.39 million compensated gross tons (CGT) last month, accounting for 45.7 percent of the global total of 3.04 million CGTs. Chinese shipbuilders took orders totaling 589,975 CGTs over the same period.

In recent years, Korean shipbuilders lagged behind Chinese firms in terms of price competitiveness for bulk orders. But they gained the upper hand in January, and the gap widened further last month.

They won orders totaling 3.1 million CGTs in the first two months of the year, compared to 2.33 million CGTs by Chinese rivals. In money terms, Korea bagged deals worth US$3.4 billion, three times more than China's $1.05 billion.